Written Answers Friday 20 August 2010

Scottish Executive

Airports

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its (a) revenue and (b) capital budget allocation to Highlands and Islands Airports Limited was for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11 and what the proposed equivalent budget allocations are for 2011-12.

Stewart Stevenson: The figures requested are as follows:

  

Financial Year
Revenue
Capital


2009-10
£19.2 million
£7 million


2010-11
£18.1 million
£7 million



  The budget allocation for 2011-12 has yet to be determined.

Airports

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what savings in net operational costs it has instructed Highlands and Islands Airports Limited to make in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Stewart Stevenson: Details of the efficiencies identified for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd as part of the 2007 Spending Review (2008-11) are published on the Efficient Government pages of the Scottish Government’s website as follows:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/05/EDPMay2010 .

Ambulance Service

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that there are sufficient ambulances on duty to respond to emergencies while accident and emergency services in Kirkcaldy are closed and NHS Fife is implementing its contingency plan to transport patients to other hospitals.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Fife is responsible for working with the Scottish Ambulance Service to ensure that appropriate ambulance cover is in place. The NHS board has worked closely with the ambulance service on arrangements during the temporary overnight reductions in accident and emergency services at Victoria Hospital on the occasions when it has been necessary for the board to implement its contingency plan. NHS Fife has made funding available for additional resources at the appropriate times to allow for extra distances travelled. These arrangements, which will continue in the future if the need arises, have ensured that there has been no adverse impact on ambulance services or response times in Fife.

Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to amend the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to provide further exemptions in respect of the licensing of sporting weapons under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill.

Fergus Ewing: As I indicated during the stage 3 debate on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill on 30 June, the Scottish Government will bring forward in the near future appropriate legislation to assist sports that may be affected adversely by the introduction of the Knife Dealers Licensing Scheme.

Disability Discrimination Act 2005

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-32727 by Alex Neil on 24 March 2010, whether a local authority is not considered to be a relevant Scottish authority under the powers invested in the Scottish Ministers by section 49D(3) of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.

Nicola Sturgeon: A local authority is considered to be a relevant Scottish Authority under the powers invested in the Scottish Ministers by section 49D(3) of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Scottish ministers have used their powers to impose specific duties on Scottish local authorities.

Disability Discrimination Act 2005

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what are considered to be relevant Scottish authorities as referred to in section 49D(3) of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005

Nicola Sturgeon: For the purposes of section 49D(3) and as defined in section 49D(10) of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, a relevant Scottish authority means:

  (a) a member of the Scottish executive or a junior Scottish minister;

  (b) the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages for Scotland, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland or the Keeper of the Records of Scotland;

  (c) any office of a description specified in an Order in Council under section 126(8)(b) of the Scotland Act 1998 (other non-ministerial office in the Scottish Administration), or

  (d) a public body, public office or holder of a public office—

  (i) which (or who) is not a cross-border authority or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body;

  (ii) whose functions are exercisable only in or as regards Scotland, and

  (iii) some at least of whose functions do not (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998) relate to reserved matters;

  "cross-border authority" means a cross-border public authority within the meaning given by section 88(5) of the Scotland Act 1998;

  "Scottish functions" means functions which are exercisable in or as regards Scotland and which do not (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998) relate to reserved matters.

Ferry Services

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a decision on the future of the pilot Road Equivalent Tariff scheme.

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make an early announcement on the future of the pilot Road Equivalent Tariff scheme to ensure that CalMac and local island communities are able to prepare effectively for summer 2011.

Stewart Stevenson: We are committed to ensuring that remote and fragile communities have direct links to the wider Scottish economy. We launched the Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) pilot to consider the most effective and sustainable way to improve the affordability of ferry services to our islands. Since the launch of the pilot there has been a significant increase in the number of people and businesses using the Western Isles ferry services and visiting the area. We are currently reviewing the initial success of the RET pilot and will make an announcement in due course.

Glasgow Airport Rail Link

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish like-for-like updated benefit-cost ratios for each major rail project underway or planned, including the Glasgow Airport Rail Link and Paisley corridor improvements.

Stewart Stevenson: The benefit-to-cost ratios (BCRs) for current and proposed rail projects, including that for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) at the time of cancellation, are as set out in the following table.

  

Project
BCR


Glasgow Airport Rail Link
1.1


Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvements Programme 
1.2*


Airdrie to Bathgate
1.5**


Borders
1.2



  Notes:

  * This ratio includes costs and benefits for the Shotts part of the programme which is already operational.

  ** This is currently being revised in light of changes to operating costs. These will be confirmed once the franchise variation for the Airdrie to Bathgate line has been agreed.

  Following the cancellation of the GARL project Transport Scotland, in partnership with Network Rail and First Scotrail, is developing a new timetable for the Ayrshire and Inverclyde rail passenger services, to be introduced in May 2012. This timetable information is currently in development and is required to inform the strategic business case for the Paisley Corridor Improvements project in the context of the wider West of Scotland railway investment. It is expected that the revised business case and associated BCR will be available in the autumn of 2010.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the cost of an MRI scan increased by approximately 54%, from £150 in 2006 to £232 in 2009, as shown in the Scottish Health Service Costs, year ended 31 March 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information in the Scottish Health Service Costs publication is mainly derived from financial and statistical data compiled by Scottish Health Boards.

  Some of the larger NHS boards such as NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which have a significant impact on the national average cost, have changed their costing methodology since 2006 to better reflect the true, fully absorbed cost of providing radiology services. This change, while providing more accurate figures, means current figures are less comparable with earlier years.

Justice

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what budget it has allocated to Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020, detailing the amount of resource being allocated to each individual scheme.

Stewart Stevenson: In addition to the existing budgets for road safety, the Scottish Government has allocated £800,000 to Scotland’s Road Safety Framework for the financial year 2010-11. We will decide on future allocations within the context of the forthcoming spending review.

  Money already allocated from the 2010-11 budget is as follows:

  Young Driver’s Debate - £60,000

  NHS Injury Data Collection Pilot - £7,000

  Seatbelt campaign promotional materials - £6,670

  Young people safety pilot - £32,500.

Justice

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments of Stewart Stevenson on 27 May 2010 ( Official Report C. 26681), (a) how it intends to fulfil its commitment to undertake a national debate with young drivers, their parents and guardians and representative groups to explore young driver issues and concerns, (b) how much it will spend on the initiative, (c) how it will identify participants in the debate and (d) what the specific aims of the debate will be.

Stewart Stevenson: By the end of this year, a national debate on young drivers’ safety will be conducted across Scotland using various methods of communication, including face to face and social networking, by contractors who have specialist knowledge and experience of conducting public consultations, particularly with young people, on a national scale.

  The Scottish Government has approved an expenditure of £60,000 for the initiative.

  The invitation to tender will specify the range and geographical spread of the participants but it will be up to the contractor to suggest how these participants will be identified and engaged.

  The specific aim of this debate will be:

  "to identify options to provide greater protection for young drivers, involving youth groups, the police and advanced driving experts in the process."

Planning

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the planning system in respect of (a) facilitating economic growth and employment, (b) giving greater weight to the needs of the economy or (c) the impact on the economy.

Stewart Stevenson: The planning system is being reformed to support sustainable economic growth.

Prison Service

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners on average were or have been released on temporary licence per week in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009 and (d) 2010.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table gives the weekly average number of prisoners temporarily released on licence for home leave from 2007 to 11 August 2010.

  Average Number of Prisoners Per Week

  

Year
 


2007
93


2008
77


2009
60


2010
54

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether pharmacists and dispensing assistants will be transferred from the Scottish Prison Service to the NHS with the transferral of medical services in autumn 2011.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS currently employs directly one pharmacist and no dispensing assistants. Substantive prison healthcare staff will be transferring to the NHS as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011. Pharmacists and dispensing assistants employed by the contracted pharmacy service provider may also have TUPE rights on transfer of services to the NHS.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether nurses and other health staff will be transferred from the Scottish Prison Service to NHS with the transfer of medical services in autumn 2011

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Prison healthcare staff in substantive posts will be transferring to the NHS as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding transfer has been agreed on the transfer of medical services from the Scottish Prison Service to the NHS for (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board in autumn 2011.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  It has been agreed, in principle, that all current funding for healthcare provision in Scottish prisons will be transferred to NHS boards as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011. The allocation of this funding, to each NHS board, is currently being reviewed as part of the National Programmes’ Financial Workstream.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the pharmacy budget will be transferred to the NHS from the Scottish Prison Service as part of the transfer of medical services in autumn 2011

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  Responsibility for pharmacy services and, with it, the pharmacy budget will be transferred from the Scottish Prison Service to NHS boards as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011.

Rail Network

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the noise levels on the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail line comply with the World Health Organization’s Night Noise Guidelines for Europe and, if not, how the costs will be met to achieve compliance.

Stewart Stevenson: The Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail line noise assessments were undertaken prior to publication of the World Health Organization’s Night Noise Guidelines for Europe. However, mitigation threshold levels are in line with the World Health Organization’s Night Noise Guidelines for Europe.

Renewable Energy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what instructions it has given to the Crofters Commission regarding applications to install a wind turbine on land held under crofting tenure where the proposed installation has been granted planning permission by the local authority.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has given the Crofters Commission no instructions regarding applications to install a wind turbine on land held under crofting tenure. The Crofters Commission has made available, since May 2008, a leaflet on its website on wind farm development on croft land and common grazing.

  http://www.crofterscommission.org.uk/documents.asp?intent=details&did=124.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has had with (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire Council regarding the introduction of a new tax to help fund the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Stewart Stevenson: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has held general discussions on funding matters with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils but these did not include a new tax to help fund the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Roads

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reinstate external audits of local authority planning departments.

Stewart Stevenson: We have no plans at present to reinstate external audits of planning authorities.

Roads

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) staff resources and (b) travel costs will be incurred by Transport Scotland in each the next 12 months as a result of its membership of, or involvement in (i) the National Salt Spreading Research Group, (ii) the UK Roads Liaison Group, (iii) The World Road Association (PIARC), (iv) Intelligent Transport Systems UK, (v) STREETWISE and (vi) TEMPO

Stewart Stevenson: The information on staff resources in the next 12 months is provided in the following table. Details of travel costs which will be incurred by Transport Scotland in each of the next 12 months is not available as no decisions have been taken about the attendance by Transport Staff at meetings / events related to these groups. In some instances staff’s participation may be by video or tele-conferencing.

  

 
Staff resources August 2010 to July 2011


(i) the National Salt Spreading Research Group
Possible attendance by a member of Transport Scotland staff at steering group meetings.


(ii) the UK Roads Liaison Group
Possible attendance by a member of Transport Scotland staff at meetings of the Steering Group, Network Management Board, Roads Board, Bridges Board and Lighting Board.


(iii) the World Roads Association (PIARC)
Possible attendance by a member of Transport Scotland staff at meetings of the World Roads Association 


(iv) Intelligent Transport Systems UK
Possible attendance by a member of Transport Scotland staff at ITS Council meetings.


(v) STEETWISE EASYWAY *
Possible attendance by a member of Transport Scotland staff at 2 Streetwise Steering Committees and Easyway Annual Forum


(vi) TEMPO **
Nil



  Notes:

  * STREETWISE is a collaboration of the UK and the Republic of Ireland national roads authorities and forms one part of eight Euro regional groupings which makes up the EASYWAY project.

  ** TEMPO was an earlier European funded project which ended in 2006.

Roads

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Transport Scotland will be sending a representative to the World Road Association (PIARC) Congress in Mexico in September 2011 and, if so, how much it expects this to cost in terms of (i) staff resources and (ii) travel costs.

Stewart Stevenson: No decision has been taken about attendance by Transport Scotland staff at the World Road Association (PIARC) Congress in Mexico in September 2011.

Roads

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) staff resources and (b) travel costs were incurred by Transport Scotland in each of the last 3 years as a result of its membership of, or involvement in (i) the National Salt Spreading Research Group, (ii) the UK Roads Liaison Group, (iii) The World Road Association (PIARC), (iv) Intelligent Transport Systems UK, (v) STREETWISE and (vi) TEMPO.

Stewart Stevenson: The information available is provided in the following tables:

  (i) the National Salt Spreading Research Group

  

 
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


(a) Staff resources
Attendance at 2 meetings by a member of Transport Scotland staff
Attendance at 2 meetings by a member of Transport Scotland staff
Attendance at 2 meetings by a member of Transport Scotland staff


(b) Travel costs***
£200
£470
£500



  (ii) the UK Roads Liaison Group

  

 
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


(a) Staff resources
Attendance at 11 meetings by Transport Scotland staff (one person in each instance)
Attendance at 10 meetings by Transport Scotland staff (one person in each instance)
Attendance at 11 meetings by Transport Scotland staff (one person in each instance)


(b) Travel costs***
£2,900
£2,600
£1,900



  (iii) the World Roads Association (PIARC)

  

 
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


(a) Staff resources
Attendance at a conference by 9 Transport Scotland staff and a meeting by 1 staff member 
Attendance at 10 meetings by Transport Scotland staff (one person in each instance)
Attendance at a conference by 2 Transport Scotland staff and 10 meetings (one person in each instance)


(b) Travel costs***
£2,700
£5,500
£6,200



  (iv) Intelligent Transport Systems UK

  

 
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


(a) Staff resources
Attendance at a congress by 2 Transport Scotland staff and a meeting by 1 staff member
Attendance at a congress by 2 Transport Scotland staff
Attendance at a congress by 1 member of Transport Scotland staff, 1 meeting by 2 staff and 4 meetings by 1 staff member


(b) Travel costs***
£1,300
£700
£1,400



  (v) STEETWISE /EASYWAY *

  

 
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


(a) Staff resources
Attendance at 11 meetings by Transport Scotland staff (one person in each instance).
Attendance at 17 meetings by Transport Scotland staff (one person in each instance) and 1 meeting by 2 staff members.
Attendance at 12 meetings by Transport Scotland staff (one person in each instance), 1 meeting by 2 staff and 1 meeting by 3 staff members 


(b) Travel costs***
£3,700
£5,100
£5,800



  (vi) TEMPO **

  

 
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


(a) Staff resources
Nil
Nil
Nil


(b) Travel costs
Nil
Nil
Nil



  Notes:

  * STREETWISE is a collaboration of the UK and the Republic of Ireland national roads authorities and forms one part of eight Euro regional groupings which makes up the EASYWAY project.

  ** TEMPO was an earlier European funded project which ended in 2006.

  *** Travel costs are estimated where actual cost information is not available.

Roads

Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can confirm that the Raith Interchange will be completed by 2013, as indicated by the Transport Scotland Programme Update dated published on 31 December 2009.

Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the delay in progress of the M8 Baillieston to Newhouse Scheme will impact negatively on the programme for the M74 Junction 5, Raith Scheme

Stewart Stevenson: We intend to examine the benefits of including the M74 Junction 5, Raith Scheme in the proposed Not for Profit Distribution (NPD) procurement of the M8 Baillieston to Newhouse Scheme. Ministers have announced that should a favourable decision on the M8 Public Local Inquiry be made, a thorough review of the remaining stages of the project will be required.

Speed Cameras

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been received in speed camera fines in each year since 1997, expressed in (a) cash and (b) real terms, also broken down by local authority.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not available by local authority area. Safety (speed and red light) cameras are operated by the eight local Safety Camera Partnerships that deliver the Scottish Safety Camera Programme, which has been operating in police force areas since 2000. Drivers caught speeding or failing to obey a red traffic signal are issued with a conditional offer fixed penalty notice (COPFN) of three penalty points and a £60 fine. The total amounts received from payment of fines in each partnership area expressed in cash and real terms are listed in the following tables:

  Cash Terms

  Total of £60 Conditional Offer Fines Paid by Drivers Speeding or Failing to Obey a Red Traffic Signal by Cameras

  

COFPN Paid
Strathclyde (£)
Fife (£)
North East (£)
Dumfries and Galloway (£)
Lothian and Borders (£)
Tayside (£)
Northern (£)
Central (£)
Total (£)


2000-01
1,122,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,122,000


2001-02
1,738,920
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,738,920


2002-03
1,670,160
421,740
277,860
-
-
-
-
-
2,369,760


2003-04
3,356,640
602,940
882,060
490,860
1,331,760
283,200
-
-
6,947,460


2004-05
3,056,760
457,320
782,280
955,200
2,551,620
659,700
191,220
-
8,654,100


2005-06
1,904,340
375,120
735,900
969,300
1,898,460
578,520
352,320
-
6,813,960


2006-07
1,577,280
319,380
818,040
840,060
1,846,320
552,060
281,700
611,580
6,846,420


2007-08
1,184,040
319,500
491,100
455,760
1,621,620
472,080
234,360
527,160
5,305,620


2008-09
741,480
224,700
408,360
472,740
886,800
280,020
241,920
352,320
3,608,340


2009-10*
546,420
214,800
297,900
276,180
967,920
358,620
282,660
334,200
3,278,700



  *Provisional unaudited figures.

  Real Terms

  Total of £60 Conditional Offer Fines Paid by Drivers Speeding or Failing to Obey a Red Traffic Signal by Cameras

  

COFPN Paid
Strathclyde (£)
Fife (£)
North East (£)
Dumfries and Galloway (£)
Lothian and Borders (£)
Tayside (£)
Northern (£)
Central (£)
Total (£)


2000-01
1,412,885
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,412,885


2001-02
2,141,817
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,141,817


2002-03
1,992,936
503,246
331,559
-
-
-
-
-
2,827,741


2003-04
3,895,415
699,718
1,023,640
569,648
1,545,521
328,656
-
-
8,062,598


2004-05
3,451,470
516,372
883,293
1,078,542
2,881,103
744,885
215,912
-
9,771,578


2005-06
2,111,921
416,010
816,116
1,074,958
2,105,400
641,581
390,724
-
7,556,709


2006-07
1,692,397
342,690
877,744
901,371
1,981,073
592,352
302,260
656,216
7,346,102


2007-08
1,235,073
333,271
512,267
475,404
1,691,513
492,427
244,461
549,881
5,534,297


2008-09
752,642
228,082
414,507
479,856
900,149
284,235
245,562
357,624
3,662,657


2009-10*
546,420
214,800
297,900
276,180
967,920
358,620
282,660
334,200
3,278,700



  *Provisional unaudited figures.

  Notes:

  1. 2000-02 Strathclyde Safety Camera Partnership Pilot – Glasgow area only

  2. 2002-03 Fife and North East Safety Camera Partnerships established. Strathclyde SCP expands to cover 4 local authority areas.

  3. 2003-04 Dumfries and Galloway and Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnerships established. Strathclyde expands to cover all 12 local authority areas.

  4. 2004-05 Northern Safety Camera Partnership established

  5. 2006-07 Central Scotland Safety Camera Partnership established

  6. *Denotes provisional figures.

Teachers

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place to help probationer teachers obtain a probationary post in a local authority area of their choice and what role it or any of its agencies play in the setting up and supervision of any such procedures.

Michael Russell: Student teachers are invited to indicate the five local authorities in which they would prefer to serve their probationary year and are subsequently allocated to one of those authorities. Alternatively they can select the ‘preference waiver’ option (and receive financial recompense for so doing) in which case they will be allocated to any Scottish local authority.

  The allocation process is jointly administered by the Scottish Government and the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

Teachers

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding Shetland Islands Council bid for or has bid for to fund probationer teaching posts in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11 and how many posts this would have fully funded in each of those years.

Michael Russell: Rather than bid for specific levels of funding in relation to the teacher induction scheme, local authorities offer teaching posts that are suitable for probationer teachers. The following table shows the number of probationer posts that Shetland Islands Council offered in each of the relevant years. Not all posts offered by local authorities are filled by the allocation process.

  

 
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11


Vacant primary posts
7
7
5


Fully funded primary posts
11
3
10


Vacant secondary posts
4
5
3


Fully funded secondary posts
2
6
8



  The amount of funding that local authorities receive depends upon the number of probationers that are allocated to the posts offered in May and subsequently take up their allocations in August.

Teachers

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it provided or has provided to Shetland Islands Council for probationer teaching posts in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11 and how many posts this allocation has fully funded or will fully fund.

Michael Russell: The following table shows the numbers of probationer teachers working in Shetland Islands Council’s schools and the amount of funding distributed to the council in the relevant academic years.

  

 
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11


Primary probationers
10 (including 3 on a fully funded basis)
14 (including 7 on a fully funded basis)
tbc


Secondary probationers
5 (including 2 on a fully funded basis)
6 (including 2 on a fully funded basis)
tbc


Funding (including "preference waiver" and "distant islands" payments
£170,194
£380,518
tbc



  Tbc = to be confirmed - probationer numbers will be confirmed once term has started and funding will be calculated thereafter.